The opening passage in Dr. Sam Taggart's new book published by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership in 2020 reads, "The saga of the country doctors of Arkansas is a long and storied history and parallels that of the state itself."
Taggart, who studied medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and practiced in Benton for 40 years before retirement in 2013, brought his new publication to Fordyce on Wednesday. He began as the luncheon speaker for the local Rotary club, then later that afternoon, some 30-plus people attended an extended presentation hosted by the Dallas County Museum located at Third and Main Streets downtown.
"I recognized how there are an awful lot of country doctors who labor away in small towns without much recognition outside their own communities," Taggart explained.
He told his audience how the book began as a series of interviews with numerous small town physicians recorded from 2016-17 concerning the past 70 years of rural medicine. In preface to the past seven decades, the book explores the healing arts of early pioneers beginning in 1804. From that point in time, the story addresses how evolving science affected the practice of country doctors up to 1945.
When he began the project, he expected to interview mostly older Caucasian men. To his surprise and delight, he discovered a broad array of gender and race among the country doctors of our state.
"Archaeology shows how the first doctors in Arkansas were Native American medicine men and women as far back as 10,500 years ago," Taggart said. "In 1900, there were more women practicing medicine in Arkansas than there were by 1950.
"Most country doctors don't go to small towns because they have to. They choose that lifestyle by conscious decision. That's why we'll always have country doctors well into the future. People trust their doctor to do the right thing and be there when they need them."
Without a broad array of diagnostic tools at their immediate disposal, country doctors manage to get to the bottom of most ailments. In addition, he said, "Three important elements of the country doctor are a quiet voice, a warm smile and a soft touch."
"The practice of medicine is a social contract," Taggart said. "A community takes the country doctor and molds them to their unique needs."
Taggart concluded his portion of the engagement saying, "When asked what was the one technology that most changed practicing medicine, doctors unanimously agree, the cell phone."
At Taggart's invitation, Fordyce native son Dr. John Hearnsberger briefly took the podium to share his path to a lifelong career in medicine. He began by sharing memories of Fordyce's own iconic country doctor, Hugh Albert Nutt, who faithfully served his community for 48 years before his recent demise.
Regarding his own career, Hearnsberger said, "I love doing what I do. My dad encouraged me to go to med school and that's pretty much all I ever wanted to do. In med school I first became interested in surgery. That led to my becoming a general and thoracic surgeon. I chose to set up practice in Nashville because it reminded me so much of my childhood home growing up in Fordyce."
Hearnsberger concluded by saying how he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Nutt and so many of his fellow practitioners by continuing to serve patients for the rest of his life.
A major subject of Taggart's book is legendary country doctor Thomas Edwin Rhine.
Rhine practiced in nearby Thornton from 1899 until just before his death in 1964. During his 65-year tenure, he delivered more than 1,000 babies.
Rhine's daughter, Pat Rhine Brown, was on hand along with her sons Thomas and David Brown. Mrs. Brown took a moment toward the end of the presentation to share a favorite story about her father. She explained how she recently met a gentleman who told her how as a young couple in high school he and his wife of 52 years had been sweethearts wanting to get married.
Their parents didn't approve of such young nuptials so they slipped away from their hometown of Hamburg and drove to Thornton where they'd heard of an old doctor who would discreetly provide the proper blood test to allow them to proceed with marriage. She told how upon arrival Dr. Rhine's waiting room was filled to capacity with patients.
After a while, Rhine walked out of the exam room and asked him, "Well young fellow, what can I do for you?" The young man explained, "My girlfriend and I need a blood test for our marriage license." Willing to accommodate the young lovers, Rhine escorted them into his office where the vast array of large glass syringes with huge needles caused the teenage fellow to faint straight away. Once revived, the procedure was completed.
When he asked Doc what he owed, Rhine asked, "How much you got?"
"Four dollars," the young man replied.
"Then give me two dollars and keep two for a wedding present."
Now, 52 years later the gentleman told Mrs. Brown, "We spent no more than 20 minutes with that old man but we have never forgotten him to this day."
Among other locations, an upcoming book signing is in the planning for the Pine Bluff area.
For information regarding future book events or to order copies of the informative publication, email [email protected] or call (501) 773-7830.
